In The Press

Treating your cocker spaniel with the choicest of treats, available in pet food is passe. Elaborate grooming sessions with the latest oatmeal shampoo, a pedicure and perfumed sprays and a trendy haircut that can turn him from an average guard dog into a rock star.

From sunscreens to oatmeal shampoos, paw balms and scented sprays, the range of grooming cosmetics, accessories and other pets care products is growing globally with more owners opting to give their pets an extra bit of pampering. Along with pet food, the cosmetics and toiletries industry is also now joining in the dynamic ‘personal care’ market for pets. It is estimated that in the US consumers spent more than $21.4 billion on their pets with big business expected in Asia-Pacific and Western Europe markets also.

“We offer several grooming services for pets to cater to the people who want their pets to be clean, hygienic and fit. The services include providing baths, anti-ticks or dandruff treatment and special hair-cuts”, says Geetika Nigam, who runs ‘Pawprints’, a Gurgaon-based company specialising in pet-grooming services. “Clients might buy one-time services from us or regular grooming sessions depending upon their requirements and their budget”, she adds. While the company provides home-based service for pets, the cost is determined by the kind of sessions the client opts for, as also on the requirements of the breeds concerned. “The cost for providing complete grooming can be anywhere from Rs 1,000 for a single session to Rs 20,000 for a six-month long regular arrangement,” says Nigam who also offers fitness-related advice to pet-owners. “Depending upon the breeds of dogs in question, the cost varies from as less as Rs 1,000 for a standard pug to as much as Rs 4,200 for a poodle or a cocker spaniel”, she adds.

Nigam believes the growing awareness among pet-owners, apart from the rising disposable incomes accounts for her flourishing business.

—PTI

NEW DELHI - Leo is affectionate, likes stuffed toys, eats fish and is a hit with ladies looking for love on online. Not bad, for a 3-year-old Golden Retriever.

Leo is just one of hundreds of dogs being signed up to a crop of dog dating websites in India by doting owners seeking a mate or a companion for their pet.

"A lot of dog owners want their dogs to have doggy friends with whom they can play and have their own fun time," says Geetika Nigam, who launched the 6,500-user-strong Puppy Love (http://www.puppylove.in/) community two years ago......

An offshoot of Pawprints, a dog grooming centre, www.puppylove.in is a meeting point for dog lovers eager to share information and other tit-bits about their pets. But more importantly it provides them a platform to find a suitable mate for their adorable canines. Geetika Nigam, the woman behind the initiative, said the birth of the website - with the tagline "it's a dog meet dog world" - happened after Pawprints came into being in 2006. "In the grooming centre I came across a lot of dog owners distraught over finding a suitable mate for their pet. They usually went through two channels - either through their vets who themselves have a limited circle of people or newspaper ads which they didn't entirely rely on," Nigam told IANS.
-by Azera Rahman
9 July 2009
Puppy love in the time of networking sites

-by Azera Rahman

Wearing a pair of black shades, Neemo literally grins through his profile picture. Looking for a mate and proudly claiming that it will be "love at first sight" for anyone seeing him, Neemo is not a biped like us but a cocker spaniel registered on a pet networking site.

An offshoot of Pawprints, a dog grooming centre, www.puppylove.in is a meeting point for dog lovers eager to share information and other tit-bits about their pets. But more importantly it provides them a platform to find a suitable mate for their adorable canines.

Geetika Nigam, the woman behind the initiative, said the birth of the website - with the tagline "it's a dog meet dog world" - happened after Pawprints came into being in 2006.

"In the grooming centre I came across a lot of dog owners distraught over finding a suitable mate for their pet. They usually went through two channels - either through their vets who themselves have a limited circle of people or newspaper ads which they didn't entirely rely on," Nigam told IANS.

"Therefore, I decided to create a common ground for all dog lovers across the country so that they can interact and choose a perfect mate for their adored pets," she said.

So while Neemo is a four-year-old male cocker spaniel from Gurgaon, "fit banda" Brownie, a golden retriever, prefers not to disclose his location. Mumbaikar Shelly, a labrador, is looking for a play mate. So if anyone is interested, they can add these canines' owners to their buddy list and get in touch.

Although the website started small in 2007, almost in a casual manner, the response to it was "overwhelming" in the first week itself.

"Most of my clientց in the grooming centre are from the expat community. But puppylove.com got some 1,000 users registered in the first week itself from amongst a wide range of people. That egged me to add more information on the site and make it more fun," said Nigam, the proud owner of five dogs.

A commerce student who had done a designing course at the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) but wanted to be a vet, for Nigam this has been a dream come true.

"The website has more than 6,000 registered users. Each user makes the profile of his or her dog, giving its photograph, breed, date of birth, place of residence, health details and other information, just like you would in a networking site. Of course, they also add what their pet is looking for - a mate or a playing date," said Nigam.

Having set up one of the first home-based grooming services -- in which professionals come to your door step to give your dog an oil massage, shampoo and condition its hair, blow dry it, style and give a hair cut if need be, clean its ears and teeth -- Nigam said that she now has other big plans, again to do with "dog services".

"Pet owners need to be trained on how to train their dogs beyond the 'fetch' and 'sit' commands. They need to learn about grooming. I am working on those lines now," Nigam said.

(Azera Rahman can be contacted at azera.p@ians.in

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Leo is affectionate, likes stuffed toys, eats fish and is a hit with ladies looking for love on online. Not bad, for a 3-year-old Golden Retriever.

Leo is just one of hundreds of dogs being signed up to a crop of dog dating websites in India by doting owners seeking a mate or a companion for their pet.

"A lot of dog owners want their dogs to have doggy friends with whom they can play and have their own fun time," says Geetika Nigam, who launched the 6,500-user-strong Puppy Love (http://www.puppylove.in/) community two years ago.

Just like human dating sites, dog owners can upload photos, blog, search for the perfect match and set up dates. ...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/16/AR200907...

CHENNAI: Hi, I'm Saber, 1 & 1/2 years old, living in Delhi. I love running, jumping and eating, I can understand Hindi, English and even
Spanish. In summer, I enjoy playing in my swimming pool
. I'm a cute, good looking boy, healthy (have all my vaccination certificates) and I'm looking for a cute, lovely lady... interested??

So reads the ad posted online by Rakesh Kumar to find a mate for his beloved labrador Saber. Getting hitched is as tough in the pooch world as in the world of humans.

"It's very difficult to find a mate because everyone has male dogs," says Rakesh. "Saber is like my son and I to keep his pups in my family always."

Recognising the dilemma of pet owners like Rakesh, "matrimonial websites" that cater exclusively to pets have been launched. Like www.puppylove.in, which was launched in 2007 by Geetika Nigam. It's a dog meet dog world' proclaims the site's catchline.

"I am a dog lover. Between my mom and me we had nine dogs and it was hard to find crosses for them," says Geetika, who runs a home-based dog grooming business, Pawprints. "So a few friends and I got together and set up the website." The site, which is like a social networking site for pets where you can upload your pet's profile, has been a huge hit. "We've had a lot of traffic from the very first week. We now have more than 5,000 regular users."

There's a growing community of pet owners who find it hard to find a suitable match for their "boys and girls". "If your pet has a good pedigree, a breeder may help out but even people who don't have pedigreed pets want a mate," says Anupama Vinayak, international pet travel consultant, who launched www.petvacations.in last August. The website, which helps pet owners take their pets on holidays, also has a matrimonial section Find A Pet Mate.

"People put up photos of their pets, write a description with numbers so that other owners can contact them," says Anupama. The photos are clicked with care, showing well groomed animals posed by the sea, perched on sofas, flaunting caps and collars. The descriptions reflect the personality of the animals, with owners giving details about their accomplishments. "I can get the newspaper, slippers and shoes. I can even open my own cupboard and get my chain and biscuits," reads one.

Pet owners are as choosy as they are while match-making for their own children, says Anupama. "They go into great detail about what they want. One woman actually said her female dog is like Priyanka Chopra," she says, laughing. "Dogs are now treated like a family member."

Once a suitable mate is identified, there are many details to iron out whether the animals are healthy and their vaccinations up-to-date, checking pedigree papers, where the two can meet and who gets to keep the pups.

Owners are willing to go to any lengths even travel and book hotels for the right kind of ambience. "One woman wanted to book a bungalow in Lonavala for her pet and two or three matches so that they could be at ease in natural surroundings," says Anupama.

There is set certain protocol, though. Usually female dog comes to the male as males are used to their own territory. "Usually owners of the male dog get one pup of their choice, while others are kept by owner of female dog," says Yashashree Patankar, who lives in Mumbai, with her six-year-old golden retriever, Buzo.

Yashashree, who had to search for two years before she was able to find a mate for Buzo, is grateful for the online facilities. "The first time I had to travel to Pune for his mate," says Yashashree. "This time, I just posted an ad online and have already got two calls. Now Buzo is six and I want his pups so that, in a sense, I'll have him with me forever."

priya.menon@timesgroup.com